I stayed here for the first time and I was pleasantly surprised. I would put the Athenee a notch above the Park Hyatt and Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit mostly because of the Club Lounge, and above Conrad which is supposed to be the top option in the Hilton chain (until Waldorf opens) but is not in the same league as Athenee. Price-wise, Athenee is generally cheaper than PH yet for the same price, I would choose Athenee so it's a no brainer if Athenee is cheaper. Conrad is significantly cheaper than Athenee but I find the price premium of Athenee well worth it. Athenee is in a similar price range as SGS. Of course, several people on FT love the SGS and I do too. But in what ways is SGS better? I am not quite sure why SGS gets so much more love than Athenee. Perhaps Athenee has upgraded several aspects since they have moved up to Luxury Collection and guests have not caught up with the new normal? I don't know because I did not go to Athenee when it was Royal Meridien. But I can confirm that Athenee impressed me.

Generallly, 3 hours of free flow drinks in the lounge is generous given that the "standard" is 2 hours, but at Athenee it's 4 hours (4pm to 8pm). So the wiki needs to be fixed. Hors d'oeuvres 3 hours is also quite generous (5pm-8pm). In addition, the quality of the food in the lounge is great and they also have three dessert options. The breakfast in the lounge is very quiet and peaceful, and I find the choice better than normal lounges so there is enough to keep me happy. You can have unlimited Prosecco for breakfast in the lounge, unlike SGS where you get only one glass at Rossini. For more choice than in the lounge, the breakfast downstairs is top notch. I like the breakfast at SGS, but I think Athenee is even better. I enjoyed my coconut water. They also have made to order mixed vegetable and fruit juices. When I checked in I asked if we can have Prosecco in the restaurant downstairs, or if it's limited to the lounge. They made a phone call and they said we could have Prosecco downstairs if I wanted. However when it came to it, I was not in the mood on any morning of our stay so I did not ask but I am assuming they would have accepted since I was told at check-in.

I did not get a room upgrade which was a bit disappointing, but I saw on spg.com before check-in that the hotel was close to full so I did not expect an upgrade and did not ask for one. A suite was available for the last 2 nights of my stay and they did not offer me to move to a new room, like they often propose at SGS. But I was not dying to move anyway so I did not ask. When I checked out I asked what is the normal Platinum treatment for upgrades and they told me normally it's an upgrade to a prestige room or a regular suite. So I think in normal circumstances next time I go to Athenee, I can hope for an upgrade, but possibly that would be one area where SGS is more generous? Anyway, the basic room at Athenee was fine and in fact better than SGS. A bit small, but fine. They mentioned that they get a lot of Platinums so competition for upgrades is not small, similar to SGS.

Another area where SGS might beat Athenee is the pool. I prefer the layout and environment at SGS.

The executive chef came to meet us in the lounge in the evening and in the restaurant for breakfast in the morning because my mom is allergic to gluten. She was treated like royalty with a special meals just for her, from oysters, to grilled shrimps, scallops, fried rice, pad thai, etc. Just fantastic. The chef was quite busy because there was a wedding going on in the hotel and he went out of his way to talk to us.

They also give a good night treat in the room for turndown service. A nice touch. Some hotels do it on day one, but at Athenee it was every evening.

There was a 720 kg gingerbread house close to reception for Christmas, a real one. Impressive.

I cannot wait to return!